It was the office of Letitia James, the attorney general whose policies are clearly to the left of Cuomo, who outlined the discrepancies. What is the status of Cuomo’s relationship with James and is this just one example of a broader power struggle?
Difficult to say, but knowing the governor’s general approach to government I would suspect James won’t be invited to the mansion for brunch anytime soon. The power of their report was profound: it caused the first major release of new, higher numbers, which in turn undermined the governor’s oft-repeated argument that the state’s nursing homes perform better than most.
The surprising strength of James’ condemnation of the governor was particularly noticeable because the governor supported her and helped her get elected for the first time in 2018. I would be shocked if Cuomo were just as supportive in 2022 when she is up for re-election.
This scandal has drawn Cuomo criticism from many members of his own party, particularly those on the left. What kind of a revelation is this about the loyalty the savvy and breakneck governor enjoys and doesn’t enjoy from fellow New York Democrats when it comes down to it?
The schism – between center and left – that has perished nationally in the Democratic Party is in full swing in New York. The governor is disliked by many progressives in the state who view him as a die-hard centrist who sometimes plays a progressive for the cameras. Cuomo refuses and once says: “I am the left.” But that didn’t convince groups like the left-wing Working Families Party, which continues to wage war on Cuomo, including backing its main antagonist, Cynthia Nixon, in 2018.
That brings us to the next year, when the governor is up for a fourth term: he’ll almost certainly face a primary from that wing of the party. And that problem with the nursing home – its lack of transparency, its tendency to tenacious governance – plays right into the progressive argument that Democrats need someone new to the State Capitol.
Just a few months ago, many observers called Cuomo a kind of hero leader in the pandemic and formulated him as a kind of foil for President Donald Trump. There was even murmur about a possible position in Joe Biden’s cabinet. In your opinion, what lasting damage could the current scandal do to its reputation?
